I worked from home on Monday, which is very rare for me, but it afforded me the chance to catch up on emails and prepare for several important meetings planed for the week ahead.

On Tuesday, I was based at the Town Hall where I attended the November meeting of Trafford’s Locality Board where we discussed health and social care issues in Trafford.

I also caught up with Cllr Zak Deakin who was elected to represent Sale residents following the May election.

I also met with my former council colleague Graham Whitham.

Graham is the Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Poverty Action – and it is always good to hear about the work the organisation is undertaking to support people across the conurbation.

In the afternoon, it was an absolute pleasure to welcome Bill Mather and Jessica Loveday to Trafford Town Hall.

I’ve known Bill and Jessica for several years and really admire the work Bill led on to celebrate Stretford House.

This iconic building is located in the ward I’m proud to represent – and when the apartment block turned 50 a few years ago, Bill decided he wanted to mark the occasion.

His work included a film and photo exhibition hosted at Stretford Public Hall.

Bill and Jessica have kindly let me display couple of my favourite photos in my office at the Town Hall.

The first shot is of former Mayor Annie Kirkbright pictured on top of Stretford House and the second is of the building itself.

Thank you so much.

On Wednesday, I travelled to Manchester Airport where I met with Adam Freeman, head of ESG and Environmental Strategy and Katie Rice, Public Affairs Manager.

It was both interesting and valuable time spent with Adam and Katie discussing ways the sector plans to make air travel cleaner with sustainable aviation fuel.

It was also great to visit the airport’s fantastic Aerozone – a free educational facility commissioned to inspire and educate generations of young people about the dynamic world of air travel.

The experience is open to children aged 4-18 and is a brilliant opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the world of aviation.

To find out more information about the Aerozone experience click here.

During the afternoon, I travelled back to the Town Hall to view an exhibit from the magnificent Cosgrove Hall Films Archive, with my colleague and Deputy Leader, Cllr Cath Hynes.

The studio was responsible for iconic shows such as Postman Pat and Wind in the Willows.

What an absolute privilege to display some of the items at the Town Hall.

Meanwhile, Waterside are custodians of the archive and are working year-round to preserve the collection.

The main exhibition runs to 6 January, in the Lauriston Gallery, and is already drawing in the crowds with thousands of visitors passing through its doors so far.

On Wednesday evening, I attended the meeting of Full Council with my Labour Group colleagues.

There were some interesting items on the agenda, which you can access here.

In addition, the meeting was live streamed and can be accessed here.

I want to thank my colleagues, Cllrs Jane Slater, Executive Member for Health and Care, and Bilal Babar, who represents Brooklands Ward, for tabling a motion asking for tougher legislation around the sale of vapes in a bid to protect children from taking up the habit.

You can read more by clicking the link below.

• Leading Labour politicians call for tougher vaping laws

I spent Thursday with members of the Executive and senior council officers discussing our plans and vision for the future.

These meetings allow us to focus clearly on key projects and policies that we aim to deliver as an administration.

Fortunately, the meeting was held close to the Trafford Waters site which forms part of the TraffordCity area.

This is a significant regeneration site in the borough, and I will look forward to seeing how the area develops over the coming years.

I am a huge fan of our industrial heritage, so the visit also gave me a chance to see one of the wonders of the modern industrial world, the Manchester Ship Canal, and the world famous Barton Swing Aqueduct.

I’m a great believer in celebrating Trafford’s history – and I know the regeneration of this area will provide an opportunity to celebrate and enhance this important piece of infrastructure.

On Friday, I travelled to Bolton Town Hall to attend the meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) in my capacity as Lead Member for Green City-Region.

I presented a paper on public sector decarbonisation- where we are bidding for a grant to make more of our public sector buildings energy efficient.

If this bid is successful Trafford could be awarded funds in the region of £3.5m.

However, one of the urgent matters we, along with most local councils, face is the ongoing pressure on our day-to-day budget.

I listened closely to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement – and was extremely disappointed that he failed to mention any financial support for local government.

Trafford Council has bridged a £288m budget gap since 2010, while at the same time, has received a significantly lower than average funding per head from the government compared to other authorities.

The local government funding model is not fit for purpose, and I’ll be working with council officers over the next few weeks to consider the measures we need to take to produce a balanced budget for the next financial year.

The strong and united message coming from council leaders across the country is that the UK government needs to step up and provide additional support as a matter of urgency.